ABOUT 20 REPRESENTATIVES OF TURKEY INVITED TO PARLIAMENTARY HEARINGS
ON ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 15, NOYAN TAPAN. On the initiative of the RA National
Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Relations, the extended
parliamentary hearings "Armenian-Turkish Relations: Problems and
Prospects" will be held on December 19-20. The standing committee’s
chairman, representative of the ARF Armenia Supreme Body Armen
Rustamian told NT correspondent that quite a large number of
participants have been invited to the hearings, including about 20
representatives of Turkey: officials, experts, and reporters.

According to A. Rustamian, the purpose of the hearings is to specify
the opportunities of parliamentary diplomacy in order to examine,
assess and help eliminate the causes of the current crisis in
Armenian-Turksih relations. "It is impossible to speak about the
foreign political doctrine and the development prospects of our country
without considering Armenian-Turkish relations as a whole and
developing a concept based on our opinions," he said.

In reponse to the question about possible speculation on the problem to
be discussed – prior to the presidential elections, A. Rustamian said
that "the presidential elections cannot bypass this problem either
because the number one task of the president is to organize and head
politics". In this respect he considered it to be correct that the
political forces present their clear views, including to the publc. The
views of the ARF have remained the same: there will be no normal
Armenian-Turkish relations without the fulfilment of two preconditions:
recognition of the Armenian Genocide and maintaining neutrality in the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem.